Who to fire – who to blame

Because of the damage, inconvenience and huge traffic jams caused by the Marilao Interchange Bridge, we can now get the attention of the DOTr and the DPWH to address their numerous shortcomings as regulatory bodies.

Last weekend, social media and radio were quite toxic because thousands of commuters and vehicle owners were unduly inconvenienced, trapped in traffic jams in NLEX, Macarthur Highway, etc. and losing money or income by the hour.

Victims did not waste time blaming, venting or trying to contribute both opinion and solutions. The question is, who was listening or doing something about it?

The man in the spotlight nowadays is Secretary Vince Dizon, who has shown political will and speed in decision making when he fired three OTS officers and replaced an MRT official. This week, Dizon’s mantra might be “who to fire – who to blame.”

Before he locks in on a target, I pray that the DOTr secretary gets to read this article on a topic I’ve written about several times but never got any traction or action from government officials.

I’m writing this Friday afternoon (March 21) and so far, the usual suspects being tarred and feathered are the NLEX corporation, trucks and truck drivers in general and road repair crews.

Just recently, another bridge, the Cabagan bridge in Isabela, was ruined and the blame was split between “under design” and excessive overloading of the dump truck involved in the bridge collapse. That bridge broke from above while the Marilao interchange bridge was rammed from underneath by a truck or container van.

When the trucks started being singled out, an association spokeswoman quickly spoke in various radio stations claiming that the height clearance was made lower due to overlays or “patongs” of concrete and asphalt in the past.

The NLEX spokesperson refuted the claim because standard procedures require the deteriorated or old asphalt to be scraped and the surface cleaned for adhesion and while all that is being done, crews constantly measure for height clearance.

So, who’s to blame?

The Land Transportation Office or LTO is responsible for inspecting and making sure that ALL vehicles comply with production standards, vehicle classification and road worthiness rules, load capacity as well as tires, brakes, lights, etc.

If the height clearance of the Marilao Interchange bridge had actually been compromised, it should have happened immediately after the last overlay was done under the bridge. Logically several other trucks should have scraped the belly of the bridge.

If the cause was the “tapal” or overlay, there should have been more incidents reported. But all we’ve heard is the one of Marilao Bridge.

The NLEX and local police keep records of vehicular accidents of the sort so all you have to do is check when the last overlay was done and how many such incidents of scrapping have happened under all the bridges spanning NLEX.

The DPWH and the DOTr can easily have engineers probe the clearances and thickness of overlays. Chances are, the culprit exceeded the height clearance of the bridge because: the “truck” violated standard production design and specifications, the truck is a “fabricated” unit, the truck was empty and had no load compression, the truck had new tires with higher “aspect ratio” or height.

Since the Marilao bridge seems to be an isolated incident, then eyes should look at the state of regulatory compliance among trucks, delivery vans, even cars and motorcycles in terms of production standards and safety.

Just use your eyes and you will see those trucks pretending to be jeepneys, especially in the Marikina-Antipolo area. They seat anywhere from 20 to 24 passengers but only have four wheels instead of six to avoid the truck ban. Then there are the modified height/length delivery vans also to avoid the truck ban.

Worst of all are the double extended trailers and trucks that have additional axels for maximum weight and carrying capacity but almost always violate the maximum load for all highways and tollways. If Secretary Dizon wants to see these, all he has to do is make “tambay” near cement plants and sand quarries.

A drive up to the Dalton Pass, Nueva Vizcaya features trucks and buses stopping at a watering area where drivers and pahinantes splash mountain water to cool down their brakes, often because their loads are too heavy and the road too steep, causing brakes to heat up and glow red.

Driving on provincial highways, I often follow behind dump trucks that have “extended” sidings and the gates of gravel and sand trucks. One ex-trucker’s assistant or pahinante told me that the additional sidings were often so high/deep.

Some drivers are also complaining about trucks using green or red lights at the top-rear panel of trucks at night which confuse motorists who think those are traffic lights in the distance.

The bottom line is the LTO needs to get tougher on regulatory compliance and put up more “flying squads” or train and deputize LGU counterparts, just like the MMDA did in villages in Makati. The LTO does not have the resources to impose the law but deputized LGUs can.

The fault or burden is not all with the LTO. The DPWH should be investigated for stubbornly not procuring and installing weighing stations in key points of national roads such as EDSA, C5, NLEX, SCTEX, etc.

Is the DPWH intentionally allowing extremely overloaded trucks and vans to use and destroy roads to sustain the road repair or reblocking activities of the DPWH? All the dedicated truck lanes tell us they are overloaded, or the DPWH is incompetent in road building.

Now that they have the largest chunk of “unprogrammed funds,” may we ask the secretary of the DPWH to install those weighing stations, please!

*      *      *

E-mail: [email protected]